This Golden Retriever mom gave birth to a GREEN puppy, and we have so many questions

Arielle Tschinkel
Updated


In the craziest news of the day, a green puppy was born in Scotland, and we can’t believe our eyes. We know, we know…it sounds bizarre, but a UK-based dog owner shared photos after her golden retriever gave birth to a green puppy, and we think it’s gotta be a sign of something lucky. Right?

Dog mama Louise Sutherland was understandably stunned. She told The Sun UK, “The first pup was stuck, so myself and my daughter Claire managed to free him and pull him out safely. It was all hands on deck but then as the puppies started to arrive, we noticed that one of the puppies had green fur. We couldn’t believe it.”

And apparently, there IS an explanation. Sutherland went on to say,

“When we checked it out [we] later found out it is very unusual and to do with the placenta. The color has faded quite a bit already and will be gone soon, I’m told. We’ve named him Forest.”

Apparently Forest and the other pups are “all great and growing like mushrooms.” And (in case you were wondering) a green puppy has only ever been recorded three other times!

The rare phenomenon apparently happens when a puppy is exposed to biliverdin, a green bile pigment found in the placenta, causing the pup to have a green coat at birth. The green tint tends to fade after a few weeks, and isn’t known to cause health problems to the newborn dog.

The first recorded instance of this happening was back in 2012, when a UK-based golden Labrador named Buttons gave birth to a green puppy (which was aptly named Hulk). Then, in 2014, two puppies were born with green fur in Spain.

We’re happy that Forest and his mom and siblings are doing well, and hope that his green tint brings a bit of good Irish luck!